1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the acquisition, processing and distribution of media objects on the Internet and, more particularly, to such systems for use in applications wherein there are multiple originators of media objects that will be viewed in multiple web sites having different viewing requirements.
2. State of the Art
Much of the phenomenal success of the Web is attributable to its graphical nature. Literally, a picture is worth a thousand words. The capture of digital images has become routine, using digital cameras (still and video) and scanners. Nevertheless, although the handling of images by Web site creators has achieved a high degree of automation, for the average user manipulating and sharing digital images over the Internet remains a cumbersome and daunting process. Piecemeal solutions that have been devised for handling digital images require a level of sophistication that is beyond that of the ordinary user. Additionally, where automated solutions do not exist, time consuming and error-prone human and manual intervention are required to manipulate or share images. Such manual intervention for transferring a digital image may include, for example, first downloading a FTP program, then installing it, then running it and connecting it to an FTP server by typing the server name in the connection dialog, then navigating to the proper subdirectory, selecting the files to be uploaded, making sure that the program is in binary transfer mode, then sending the files. For the average user, such an involved process is a disadvantage.
Additionally, as technologies advance and casual users begin to experiment with other image types, such as streaming video, 3D objects, slide shows, movies, and accompanying sound files, the processes required to share these rich media types on the Internet becomes exponentially more complicated and prohibitive. As the realization of the Internet as an interactive, content rich medium becomes more and more a reality, the need for enabling the acquisition and distribution of rich content and media on the Internet will become the gating factor to its long-term success.
Once specific application of handling media over the Internet is in the real-estate market. It has been reported that over 25% of prospective residential home-buyers use the Internet as a means for locating properties of potential interest. There are many web sites dedicated to this purpose, including major real estate portals (e.g., Realtor.com and HomeAdvisor), national and regional brokerages, and individual realtor or broker web sites, to name a few. To be effective, these sites must provide rich visual content in the form of images of the properties listed. The image content can take the form of a single still image, multiple still images, slide shows comprised of a sequence of still images, immersive images (360 degree views), and video tours. These images can also have audio associated with them. The term media object is used generically herein to refer to all types of such images, including audio and graphic objects.
While anyone can access the Internet through a browser, getting images posted to the Internet is a complicated process generally requiring a high degree of technical proficiency and specialized software tools. It is even more difficult when the media objects are of multiple types (still images, immersive images, video, etc.) and are created by different originators. For example, a real estate listing might include an image captured by a multiple listing service photographer, an immersive image captured by a professional photographer, and multiple still images taken by the real estate agent herself. Add to this the fact that all of these media objects need to be displayed on multiple web sites that will have different viewing requirements. For example, a national real estate portal may only accept still images of a certain size and quality, say 300.times.200 pixels at a jpeg compression setting of 60%, while an agent=s individual web site may require a 390.times.260 pixel representation of the images at a different quality setting. Additionally, different browser versions have different viewing requirements for certain media object types. It is apparent that the problems associated with acquiring media objects from multiple sources and distributing them in the required form to multiple destination web sites are complex.
There are web sites today that offer a subset of this functionality specifically in the on line photo sharing market. These sites allow users to store their personal photographs, display them in a thumbnail or larger view and invite family and friends to view the pictures. These photo sharing sites let users upload digital pictures directly or have film processed and then posted to the web site. The purpose of these sites is to accommodate image uploads from many users within a proprietary system and where the image destination is intended to stay within that system.
The present invention teaches a Media Acquisition, Processing and Distribution (MAPD) system that solves many of the problems of handling media over the internet such as encountered in the real-estate market and photo sharing market. The Media Acquisition, Processing and Distribution (MAPD) system of the present invention has three major components: (1) media acquisition, (2) media processing and (3) media distribution (via hosting or mirroring). The purpose of the MAPD system is to enable multiple users without computer expertise to easily submit media objects that after appropriate processing in accordance with pre-defined requirements, are viewable on multiple web sites.
The MAPD system of the present invention specifically handles image upload within an open system and that system is designed to process and distribute media objects outside of itself, to be viewed in multiple web sites having different viewing requirements such as desired in the real-estate market. Additionally, the system of the present invention is designed such that the proprietary systems used in the photo sharing sites are unique to each web site and are not designed to be deployed across several web sites, markets or partners. Finally, the MAPD system of the present invention is designed to be used by varying and different web sites across many markets and partners. One important aspect of the MAPD system is its API or abstraction layer that specifically allows multiple web sites to integrate the MAPD system functionality.